Waterbury evening Democrat., 1887-12-28
A PREHISTORIC CITY.
MIR. FRANK cUSHING's DISCOVERIES
 IN SOUTHERN ARIZONA.


 IN SOUTHERN ARIZONA.
 Researches Among the Ruins in Salt River
 valley-Thousands of Skeletons-Wen
 of an Ancient Race.
 Some very important discoveries concern ing prehistoric races have been made during the past year by Professor Frank Cushing, who has charge of an exploring expedition in southern Arizona. He was occupie,1 in the Salt river valley the past summer. The Salt river valley is the most fertile region in Arizona. It lies about eighty miles north west of Tucson, on either side of the Salt river, near where it joins the Gila. Father Keno made explorations there about 1897, when he travelled through Arizona to estab- fish Jesuit missions, and he speaks of it as having considerable population of Indians, who have since become known as the Pi1nas and Maricopas. But he discovered traces of a heavy population that had existed long be- fore and that had become extinct. Among the evidences were old irrigating canals, ruins of buildings and stone utensils, both for war and domestic use.
 Professor Gushing, it will be remembered by many, was for some time identified with researches connected with the Zuni Indians of Colorado. He lived nine years with the Zunis, acquired perfect mastery of their Ian guage, has written many interesting articles about them, and has had personal charge of two delegations of them that have visited the east MT. Cushing has been at work several months on the ruins of Salt river valley, and l had the pleasure of making him a visit in the early part of August. A friend and ar rived at his camp early in the morning. MT. Cushing is acting under authority of the Smithsonian institution, and everything about his camp had the appearance of being prosperous and we'll cared for. We felt like we had got back under the sheltering arms of the government. The big black mules, the trim, well built wagons, the white, strong tents, the abundance of food for both man and beast, and the ever beautiful American flag floating over all, made up a particularly inspiring spectacle and gave us a patriotic impulse that one could feel only in such wild, untrodden region as Arizona. We were welcomed most heartily by MT. Gushing and his assistants. He carries quite little com nunity with him. First is his wife and her sister, two very charming looking ladies; then an engineer, an amanuensis, a cook, two or three groonas and general workmen and quite a lot of people to do the digging for re- mains of the lost tribes. One lone tent was given up to the remains that had been found. These were being assorted, labeled and packed away in boxes for shipment to the Smith sonian institution.
 His camp was at the edge of what had evi- dently been a city of considerable size, and about 300 yards away was the citadel or fort ress of this city, We walked over to this citadel and took a general survey from that point. It had evidently been building of considerable size and strength, probably sev- eral stories high, and had its foundation laid deep in the earth. The material used in it's construction was sundried clay, the same as that used by the Mexicans of the lower and middle classes, and before MT. Gushing be- gan his explorations there was nothing to mark its whereabouts, except a sort of oblong hillocll or mound. Little of the walls above tho foundation were found intact, but the ground plan could be traced in every detail, as well as tho lines of the outer wall. The rooms were of different sizes, and seemed to have been constructed with much archi- tectural skill. A number of the smaller apartments had undoubtedly been con- structed for burial vaults, for when they were opened up skeletons were found in them, the heads being invariably to tho east. In one of these vaults was the skeleton of Q child. MT. Cushing was of
 
 of combined citadel and sacred temple, and that the remains of those found there were those of priests and their families. He said he had encountered many evidences that con- vinced him that the people who had inhabited the city had reached the period in civilization when the priest is superior in power. A chief or king lived in the citadel, but he was under the control of the priests. Just why Mir. Cushing took this view I could not clearly understand, unless it was because of certain relics he had found in some of the tombs. .s
 The city extended out in all directions from the palace or temple, and the founda- tions of many of them had been exposed, many of them consisting of but a single room; but now and then there would be one of larger and more ample proportions, and in most of these larger ones there had been found burial vaults and skeletons. Two thousand of these skeletons had been ex- humed when was there. There was a gen eral burial ground where the dead seemed tc have been thrown in promiscuously, sort of potter's field, but the skeletons here were so broken up that no good specimens could be obtained. The richer people buried their dead in their houses, building. air tight vaults for the purpose, but the poor classes were disposed of much as they are today in oru larger cities.
 MT. Cushing had found great deal ot pottery in the tombs as we'll as in and about the dwellings saw a number of pieces that were well preserved and that had beer painted with much skill All the best speci mems seemed to have been used for sacred purposes, and this was one reason, no doubt MT. Cushing had for believing these people whoever they were, had arrived at a perioe in their national history when the priests were at the head of affairs These fine1 pieces of pottery were of many differen shades, but were all of light color, with blacl markings and figures, reminding one greatly of ancient Egyptian pottery. The inferior specimens look much like that made by tn Arizona Italians of today, and which on may see brought into Tucson almost every day for sale. No iron, copper or metal in struments of any kind have been found but great quantities of stone axes stone pestles and mortars, bone needle: and knives and other such materials as be long to the Stone Age. But the skill witt which these articles were made was far supe rior to that shown by the Indians found il America by the whites. These prehistori dwellers of southern Arizona were a peopl of very superior intelligence. They bull cities that ranked with those found in Mex ico by Cortez, and were in advance of thos 1 of the Colorado Zuni tribe of the preSen